The 1930s building of the Library, with its awe-inspiring vaulted timber ceiling, was complemented in 2005 by a multi-award-winning extension. This created a spacious IT resources area and a state-of-the-art repository to house the Archive and the Special Collections. These collections range from rare Sanskrit manuscripts to gifts of books from Girton’s most notable early supporters such as Tennyson, Ruskin, and George Eliot. There are extensive and internationally important collections on the history of women and work, the suffrage movement, and women’s education, as well as an extensive archive of the College’s ground-breaking history.
Library News
Library opening hours: Michaelmas Term 2026
Girton Library will return to Full Term opening hours on Saturday 3 October, when the Library will be open daily from 9am to midnight.
Opening hours for the week of 28 September:
- Monday 28 September: 9am-5pm
- Tuesday 29 September: 9am-5pm
- Wednesday 30 September: 9am-9pm
- Thursday 1 October: 9am-9pm
- Friday 2 October: 9am-9pm
- Saturday 3 October: 9am-12am
- Sunday 4 October: 9am-12am
If you are planning a special journey to use the Library, we recommend contacting us in advance by email to library@girton.cam.ac.uk, or by phone at 01223 338970.
Opening hours for the study rooms: Michaelmas 2026
- Study rooms are available to all Girton students. Please book study rooms before using them.
- Group study rooms D33, D34 and D35 on the hyphen corridor are bookable 24/7.
- Quiet study rooms on Middle Chapel and Top Chapel are bookable from 8.15am to midnight.
- Postgraduate-only study room F40 is bookable 24/7 (please note that you will need to collect the key from the Porters' Lodge).
Vacation borrowing
Anything borrowed during the vacation will be due back at the start of Michaelmas Term, no later than Wednesday 7 October.
Archive and Special Collections:
The opening hours for the Archive and Special Collections are different. Please see the Arranging a Visit section of the website for full information, but note that the Reading Room is open by appointment only on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4.30pm.
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